Eurostar train services between London and Paris have resumed after mass cancellations on Friday when an unexploded Second World War bomb was found near tracks in the French capital.
The operator was forced to cancel all 32 trains scheduled to run between the cities after the discovery of the explosive near railway tracks in Saint-Denis, north of Paris.
It said it expects “normal traffic” between the two cities on Saturday, after the bomb was removed by 4pm on Friday.
The first Eurostar train to run from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord on Saturday was scheduled to depart at 6.31am and one extra service will run in each direction in addition to its usual timetable during the day to accommodate passengers.
The unexploded bomb was found about 4am on Friday by railway staff carrying works on the tracks, the French transport minister Philippe Tabarot told a press conference on Friday afternoon.
Thousands of passengers booked on services that day saw their travel plans wrecked as a result.
Crowds gathered at London St Pancras and Paris Gare du Nord stations in the hope of boarding afternoon departures as initially only services in the morning were cancelled.
Nearly 300 police officers were deployed to secure the area in Saint-Denis while bomb-disposal experts arrived at the scene from 4.30am, Mr Tabarot added.
Schools were also evacuated and residents were asked to stay indoors.
Mr Tabarot announced the bomb-disposal operation had ended shortly after 4pm on Friday.
“We are delighted and relieved that all this has come to an end”, Mr Tabarot said.
“The whole northern part of our country was paralysed – almost 500 trains and 600,000 people in Gare du Nord, and it affected international travel,” he added.
Eurostar passengers whose trains were cancelled were also given the option of requesting a refund or voucher for the value of their booking.
